Shiksha Engineering Outlook 2022 Report Reveals Declining Trend In Number Of Entrance Exams An Engineering Aspirant Appears For Key Highlights:
- Preference for JEE Main and other prominent private entrance exams drops
- CSE remains top specialisation choice among Engineering aspirants while preference for Mechanical Engineering dips
- Student reviews & placements are most important information for Engineering aspirants when choosing a college
- Preference for Engineering colleges in home state surpasses that for metro cities
InfoEdge (India) Ltd.’s Shiksha.com, a leading online platform for college selection in India, has released its annual Engineering Outlook Report 2022. This report covers every criterion for college selection as well as entrance exam trends among Indian Engineering students.
In India, the Covid-19 pandemic has been a catalyst for a shift in Engineering applicants’ preferences and choices in the past two years. Students are now more focused than ever on the admission exam they want to take, resulting in a dip in the number of entrance exams they appear for. In reality, university and state-level exams have grown in popularity over the last year, while entrance exams like JEE Main and some prominent private entrance exams have moved down in the list of preferred entrance exams considering preference for home states for education due to pandemic. Students now prefer to study in their native states rather than in metro cities so that they are not forced to relocate owing to the pandemic. When making an informed decision in choosing an Engineering institution, the report also suggests that college rankings, placements, and student ratings are important factors that are considered.
The report shows that except for South India, the average number of Engineering entrance exams in 2021 has decreased across the country. Surprisingly, the weighted average of entrance exams in South India grew by 6% from 2020 to 2021. North and Central India saw a 35% and 45% increase in the percentage of students taking only one entrance exam in 2021, respectively. This number declined by 10% in South India.
The preference for Engineering colleges in one’s home state has surpassed the preference for metro cities. When seeking BTech colleges in 2021, aspirants from West, Central, and South India favoured colleges in their hometowns over colleges in major locations such as Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. Aspirants from North India continue to favour metropolitan cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai. Cities such as Pune and Delhi-NCR saw a negative relative lift, but cities such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Nagpur and Surat saw a positive rise among West India Engineering aspirants. When compared with 2018, Ahmedabad’s preference increased by 80% in 2021, whilst Pune’s overall student preference decreased by 24% in the last four years. When students in the eastern region are looking for BTech colleges, Kolkata and Delhi-NCR are the top selections. However, when compared with 2020, their preference has decreased.
In the case of Central India, preference for Indore rose by 24% as the top option for students studying BTech during the COVID-19 year of 2021. Mumbai and Delhi, on the other hand, had a y-o-y decrease. In 2021, prominent capital cities in the South remained the top choice for students from Southern India interested in studying BTech. For students in North India, Delhi-NCR remains the top choice. Despite their prominence, Mumbai and Bengaluru are losing ground year after year. Furthermore, students from North India flock to Chandigarh, Lucknow, Kanpur, Dehradun, and Jaipur to study BTech.
Engineering in Computer Science was the most popular choice among students when it came to specialisation. Due to changes in the job market as a result of COVID-19 and rising prospects in technology-driven businesses, its standing has evolved close to 28% since 2019. Other specialisation preferences were unchanged from the previous year, except for Mechanical, Electrical, and Civil Engineering specialisations, which saw a little drop. Agricultural Engineering, Biological Engineering, Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, and Mining Engineering are a few emerging Engineering specialities in recent years.
According to the report, student ratings and placement statistics, as last year, were the most essential factors for students while evaluating BTech colleges, followed by college rankings and fees. Placement numbers, on the other hand, were more popular in northern India than college reviews. In contrast to 2020, the value of information categories such as college galleries and alumni success stories increased in 2021. This could be due to COVID-19 lockdown. Students commonly sought information about available programs, admission requirements, and college-related Q&A.
Mr. Vivek Jain, Chief Business Officer, Shiksha.com and Naukri FastForward commented, “Due to the ongoing pandemic situation, students’ preference in choosing Engineering colleges has changed. Although placement and student review still weigh significantly high, students are now unwilling to relocate. Our survey shows that students from different parts of India are choosing colleges in nearby large cities. Though students are inclined towards search engine results, we are also witnessing a substantial uptick in online listing sites and official college websites.”
College listing/ranking sites and college official websites, in addition to Google, have developed as important platforms for finding information about colleges. COVID-19 lockdown impact and changing customer behavior are both reflected in the growing percentage of online platforms. This demonstrated that the internet has become the go-to platform for finding reliable information. In the last two years, online webinars and social media platforms have become more popular. Shiksha also holds frequent student counseling webinars, which have aided in the real-time resolution of over 10,000 students’ issues and questions. In addition, Family/friends will continue to hold a major preference as influencer platforms among traditional sources of information, however, newspapers/magazines and student fairs’ positions have worsened further.
The report reveals interaction with current college students remained the most popular way to learn more about colleges, followed by interactions with professors/faculty and college alumni. Western, eastern, and northern India all saw an increase in positive y-o-y interaction with college students. Overall, people prefer to interact with instructors and college graduates in the same way they did last year, but there was a downward tendency, particularly in western and eastern India. Interaction with admissions agents, on the other hand, has increased in all regions.
Shiksha offers a network of more than 2,350 campus ambassadors spread throughout 1,100+ leading universities and colleges in India, who answer ambitious students’ questions and concerns about admission to their specific colleges and courses via tailored one-on-one calls and webinars. In the previous year, Shiksha has resolved over 8,000 student queries via personalized one-on-one calls.
Placement and internship opportunities remained the top value-add that students sought in a BTech college. Students from western and northern India valued fee and scholarship programs the most, while students from other regions sought after experienced professors the most.
Among students from southern India, skill development infrastructure and programs were a less popular value-add than experienced teachers. In comparison to 2018, students prioritized value-adds such as experienced instructors, high-quality students, cultural experiences, and student diversity. Students favored in-classroom learning and college life experiences over value-adds such as internet-based visual classes, indicating an increasing preference among students for in-classroom learning and college life experiences. Similar to previous years, the report revealed that value-adds, like placement and internships, continued to be the top value-add that students were looking for in an MBA college followed by work experience while studying, quality students, budget for a startup, corporate exposure, among others, have gained popularity among MBA aspirants across India.
Photo Credit: Education21
